We’ve been given an opportunity to demo a new (to the US market) “infotainment” head unit in our Volkswagen CC. The Runz FS1 is a Korean sourced head unit and is a direct competitor to Volkswagen’s own flagship navigation head unit, the RNS-510. It’s had a quality run since it’s debut in the Korean Volkswagen market in 2007 and we’re finally getting a taste of it on US soil.

The Runz FS1 offers a factory look, fit, and finish and is compatible in Volkswagen models like the CC, (Mk5/Mk6) GTI, Jetta, (B6) Passat, and Tiguan. Installation is simple with a truly “plug and play” wiring harness that eliminates the need to do any coding. It’s completely integrated with the steering wheel buttons, A/C controls, and Optical Parking System (OPS – parking sensors). A high resolution 800×480 screen produces crisp video playback and real 3D navigation, though the navigation is currently not yet supported here in the US. However, we hear they are wrapping up US map porting soon. Meanwhile, we’ve simply used the Bluetooth connection with our iPhone and can get around just fine with Google Maps point-by-point directions guiding us through the speakers in the background, all while streaming our favorite hits with apps like Pandora, Spotify, or our stored library. In addition to the CD/DVD and SD card slot, a “junction box” installed in the glove box allows for direct connection with an iPhone for video and YouTube playback, and photo slideshow display but we leave an iPod in there which stores our personal music collection. Two USB ports allow for a direct connection of a thumb drive or hard drive so there’s no need to transfer gigs of information like you would need to with VW’s RNS-510. The user interface is also very easy to manage and responsive. Check out the chart to the right for a more comprehensive spec sheet.

We are looking forward to testing the now available iPhone mirroring feature (available also for Android) as well as the new US map data that will enable navigation. Meanwhile we’ll try and get better, detailed images of the HU and its features as we further test its capabilities. We’ll also tell you about the backup camera we’ve most recently added and plugged into the HU in another feature coming up soon. Stay tuned!

4 thoughts on “Demoing The Runz FS1 Head Unit”

could you do me a favor and let me know how the bluetooth audio interface is with an iPhone (preferably an iPhone 5)? i’m looking specifically to see if the headunit lets you do things like skip tracks, play/pause tracks, etc on Pandora, Mog, Spotify, etc? Also, I didn’t see if y’all mentioned the ability to keep using the voice control (specifially for phone calls, etc) with this unit.

Our experience so far is only with the iPhone 4. In fact I hear the Runz FS1 is not yet compatible for use with the iPhone 5 but I trust that is already in development. The Bluetooth audio interface is fantastic, and we are able to use steering wheel and head unit controls to skip/play/pause/stop audio tracks on the likes of Pandora, etc. Have not tested the voice control personally as it’s not a feature we use regularly on the iPhone 4 but suspect it would work just fine.